LIFE. Information & communication projects 2012

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Environment Environment

LIFE

_{PROJECTS 2012}

Information &

Communication

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Introduction to LIFE+ Information & Communication 2012

LIFE Information & Communication in 2012

LIFE+ Information and Communication projects dis-seminate information, raise the profile of environ-mental issues, and provide training and awareness-raising for the prevention of forest fires. Of the 158 proposals received in 2012, the Commission selected 10 projects for funding. These projects will be carried out by a range of public and private sector nature and/ or environmental organisations located across nine Member States.

Four of the 10 projects are concerned with raising awareness about nature and biodiversity matters, with six focused on other environmental matters, such as climate change, resource efficiency and coastal pollution prevention. Together, they represent a total investment of €10.5 million, of which the EU will pro-vide some €5.2 million.

Background

LIFE is the EU’s financial instrument to support envi-ronment and nature conservation projects throughout the EU, and in certain non-EU countries. Since 1992, LIFE has co-financed some 3 900 projects, contrib-uting approximately €3.1 billion to the protection of the environment. LIFE+ is the European financial in-strument for the environment with a total budget of €2 143 billion for the period 2007-2013. During this period, the Commission is launching one call for LIFE+ project proposals per year. LIFE+ Information &

Com-munication is one of three thematic components un-der the LIFE+ programme. The other two components, LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity and LIFE+ Environment Policy & Governance, focus respectively on improving the conservation status of endangered species and habitats; and on supporting pilot projects that con-tribute to the development of innovative policy ideas, technologies, methods and instruments.

LIFE+ Information & Communication 2012:

Commission funds 10 innovation projects in nine

countries with €5.2 million

The European Commission has approved funding for 10 new environmental awareness projects in nine countries under the LIFE+ Information & Communication programme 2012. These projects will either raise the profile of environmental issues, or provide training and awareness-raising for the prevention of for-est fires. The projects are led by ‘beneficiaries’, or project promoters, based in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Poland and the Slovak Republic. They represent a total investment of €10.5 million, of which the EU will provide some €5.2 million.

More information on each LIFE+ project is available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/ index.cfm

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Index of Information & Communication projects selected in 2012

Location Project number Title of project

AUSTRIA

LIFE12 INF/AT/000369

EKO-LIFE Experimenting and communicating sustainable life-styles to promote Energy Autonomy

BELGIUM

LIFE12 NAT/BE/000459

Life EWWR+ European Week for Waste Reduction

BULGARIA

LIFE12 INF/BG/000105

SusHerb LIFE 2012 Promoting a Sustainable Herbal Harvest in Bulgaria (SusHerb)

FINLAND

LIFE12 NAT/FI/000233

LIFE+ CrayMate CRAYMATES WILL NOT BE LEFT BEHIND

FRANCE

LIFE12 INF/FR/000735

LIFE MIL’OUV Open pastoral lands are an important resource! Let’s share our knowledge to preserve their biodiversity

GREECE

LIFE12 INF/GR/000985

LIFE – AMMOS Integrated information campaign for the reduction of smoking related litter on beaches

ITALY

LIFE12 ENV/IT/000465

EcoLife Ecological Lifestyles for COReduction 2 LIFE12 ENV/IT/000571

Life Go Park Life Go Park

POLAND

LIFE12 ENV/PL/000009

LIFE/3xEnvironment/PL Three campaigns that integrate the SME sector busi-nesses and their surroundings in the efforts to protect the environment

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

LIFE12 INF/SK/000165

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Project background

In 2007, the Vorarlberg Region launched its ‘Energy-au-tonomy 2050’ plan and began devising processes and projects to achieve its objectives. The EKO-LIFE project will address the environmental consequences of global warming and ‘materialistic’ lifestyles at the local level. It is foreseen that the project will also have benefi-cial impacts on other areas such as natural resources, biodiversity, health, water, air and soil, waste and the urban environment. The project will encourage changes in behaviour amongst the local population, promoting new daily practices while respecting specific social and cultural contexts.

Project objectives

The main project objective is to reduce human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and to contribute to the imple-mentation of European environmental policy and climate change-related legislation. The project will encourage citi-zens of Vorarlberg to change how they lead their every-day lives, particularly in regards to choices concerning mobility, food, consumption and the home.

Key messages will be designed around a ‘push-pull’ strat-egy: the desire for change will be triggered on an emo-tional level and on a raemo-tional level; awareness of the need for change will be raised by highlighting problems and conditions, and the possibilities of change will be dem-onstrated through the highlighting of best practices and positive experiences.

Target groups will be addressed on specific consumption areas. Everyday scenarios will be developed to enable citi-zens to experience alternative ways of behaving. In order to raise awareness and encourage replication, these peo-ple will act as ‘Change Ambassadors’, sharing their expe-riences within their social networks. The project will also develop an institutional structure for continuous replica-tion and behaviour change after its durareplica-tion.

Expected results

• Description and detailed understanding of the targeted regional groups, their social environment and lifestyles; • An active network of training and communication

partners;

• Innovative, participatory training tailored to the every-day reality of the target groups;

• Eight initial experimental training sessions, each in-volving 10 to 50 participants, will result in at least 160

people becoming actively and directly involved. (A cre-ative process to carry out and further develop training sessions will result in at least 16 further ‘experiments’, actively involving more than 320 participants);

• An effective communication strategy and awareness-raising actions to spread novel everyday experiences. The communication campaign will deliver a series of specific actions (eight print media ads, two radio spots, a TV spot, 2 000 brochures, 40 posters, 20 social me-dia postings and three public events). The campaign will reach up to 30% of Voralberg’s inhabitants; • Dynamic processes for carrying out and further

de-veloping experimental training and communication practices;

• An institutional framework and support for replicating changes in everyday practices;

• A reliable monitoring framework; and • The dissemination of results across the EU.

L I F E 1 2 I N F / AT / 0 0 0 3 6 9 E K O - L I F E

Experimenting and communicating

sustainable lifestyles to promote

Energy Autonomy

Beneficiary:

Type of beneficiary NGO-Foundation

Name of beneficiary Energieinstitut Vorarlberg

Postal address Stadtstraße 33 A – 6850 Dornbirn AUSTRIA

Phone +43 5723120254 Fax +43 5572312024

Email [email protected]

Name of contact person Karin FEURSTEIN

Duration of project:

36 months (01/07/2013 – 30/06/2016)

Total budget in euro:

775,599.00

EC contribution in euro with %:

387,713.00 (49.99%)

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Beneficiary:

Name of beneficiary

Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and sustainable Resource management (ACR+)

Postal address Avenue d’Auderghem, 63 B – 1040 Brussels BELGIUM

Phone +32 2 2346500 Fax: N/A Email: [email protected]

Name of contact person Philippe MICHEAUX NAUDET

48 months (01/07/2013 – 30/06/2017)

1,968,542.00

984,271.00 (50.00%)

Themes: Information-Communication: Awareness raising – Information / Waste: Waste reduction - Raw material saving

European Week for Waste

Reduction

Project background

The Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC clearly emphasises waste prevention through reuse and re-cycling as a top priority. An overall review of existing European awareness campaigns shows that, whilst the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) is currently the only pan-European initiative focusing on waste prevention, there is no such initiative at the Eu-ropean level to raise awareness on the three highest levels of the waste hierarchy (prevention, preparing for reuse and recycling). Moreover, there are not enough tailor-made awareness-raising initiatives that target specific audiences.

Project objectives

Building on the previous EWWR (2009-2011), the project will address the gaps identified by focusing on expand-ing awareness, reinforcexpand-ing and deepenexpand-ing understandexpand-ing of waste prevention, preparing for reuse and recycling, and broadening the outreach of waste prevention. An-nual EWWR+ events will be organised (2013-2016) to improve awareness of these topics. Best practices and other communication tools will be developed for the targeted audiences: public authorities and NGOs; busi-nesses; schools and citizens. To mobilise people and re-inforce awareness and actions on key waste issues, spe-cific annual prevention thematic days will be organised ( such as ‘no food waste’) and an official annual European ‘Clean-Up Day’ will be tested.

Expected results

The project expects to achieve the following results: • Development of best practice guidelines and toolkits

addressing the key target audiences in seven lan-guages;

• Implementation of the project’s EWWR+ best practice guidelines in 400 pilot locations in at least four coun-tries;

• Four expanded EWWR+ events involving an estimated 500 000 participants and reaching 4 million people with the key messages;

• Four thematic days on the following topics - ‘reuse’ (2013), ‘no food waste’ (2014), ‘dematerialisation’ (2015) and ‘hazardous waste prevention’ (2016) to be held during the four EWWR+ events;

• Three annual ‘Clean-up Days’ to increase awareness amongst a critical mass of citizens (around 40 000 participants) and to collect an estimated amount of 3 000 tonnes of rubbish; and

• A 10% increase in reuse and recycling and a 5% de-crease in waste in specific pilot areas over three years through the implementation of the targeted EWWR+ best practice guidelines and other specific tools.

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Project background

Bulgaria has a huge variety of medicinal and aromat-ic plants, or ‘MAPs’, wharomat-ich are harvested for both local needs, as well as for the international market. There is a regulated procedure for their collection, governed by na-tional laws. However, awareness about the regulations and about the collection of some MAPs needs to be im-proved to avoid unsustainable use.

Factors threatening the future of Bulgaria’s MAPs in-clude: a lack of proficient collection practices, informa-tion campaigns or training over the last 20 years; and a lack of expertise among the municipalities responsible for issuing the collection permits. Another problem is caused by poor communication between stakeholders, in particular a serious gap in the knowledge of individual responsibilities resulting in ineffective measures to en-courage sustainable use. In addition, the general public is unaware of the employment and economic develop-ment opportunities offered by MAPs.

Project objectives

The project will address the commercial over-exploita-tion of wild populaover-exploita-tions of MAPs in Bulgaria. The pro-ject aims to implement a series of integrated commu-nication and training actions that build awareness and knowledge throughout the supply chain of how to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of MAPs.

Specific objectives of the communication and training actions include:

• Informing the general public about the commercial over-exploitation of MAPs (including the conserva-tion and economic value of the threatened plants) and raising awareness about “sustainable herbal har-vests”;

• Promoting the concept of “sustainable herbal har-vests” (including better MAP collection and cultivation practices) to local communities in the selected pilot area; and

• Increasing knowledge and improving the skills of all stakeholders.

Expected results

• Implementation of a comprehensive communication and information campaign developed by the project; • Development, testing, refinement and delivery to

MOEW and MAF of MAP training packages that include a programme, methodology and training material;

• Training of experts and trainers for the collection of MAPs;

• Development, testing and refinement of a model for a MAP mobile information centre;

• An information and consultation campaign targeted at 50 buyers and processing facilities managers in the project area and a further 72 in neighbouring districts; • An information campaign targeting 8 400 farmers

and thousands of local people in the project area; • Production of a ‘Sustainable Herbal Harvest’ film to

be broadcast on Bulgarian national TV as well as oth-er regional/national TV stations;

• An improvement in the knowledge and skills of all stakeholders – including improved communication between all institutions with responsibilities for MAP and better understanding and appreciation of each other’s roles; and

• Development of a good network of contacts between all stakeholders.

Promoting a Sustainable Herbal

Harvest in Bulgaria (SusHerb)

Beneficiary:

The Information and Nature Conservation Foundation (INCF)

Postal address

Yavorov H.Est. - bl 29, entr. V, ap.7 BG – 1111 Sofia

BULGARIA

Phone +359 28721483 Fax +359 28721483 Email [email protected]

Name of contact person Vladimir GALABOV

30 months (01/07/2013 – 31/12/2015)

292,920.00

146,196.00 (49.95%)

Themes: Information-Communication: Awareness raising – Information / Species: Plants

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CRAYMATES WILL NOT BE LEFT

BEHIND

Project background

Noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) is an endangered en-demic species in Europe and in Finland and is listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN red list. The last abundant native crayfish stocks in Europe are located in the southern and northern parts of Finland and Sweden. The crayfish plays a significant role in Finnish aquatic ecosystems. Stocks of the species have been collapsing over the last 150 years mainly because of crayfish plague, but also be-cause of declining water quality, water construction and invasive species. As the main threats to noble crayfish stocks are caused by human activities, it is also possi-ble for people to understand the risks and control them. The project is aiming to improve aquatic ecosystems and promote positive socio-economic effects by protecting crayfish stocks and promoting their sustainable exploi-tation – currently some 2-3 million crayfish are caught annually in Finland, where the species is of cultural, as well as environmental significance.

Project objectives

The project’s main aim is to increase awareness among the general public and interest groups of the importance of native crayfish stocks to biodiversity and aquatic eco-systems. To this end, it will inform the public about the main threats to native crayfish stocks in Finland. Specific goals include:

• Enhancing understanding of the interactions between native and alien crayfish species;

• Improving the means of identifying native and alien species;

• Improving the means of prevention of the spread of pathogen crayfish plague; and

• In the long term, improving the status of noble cray-fish stocks and preventing the accidental spreading of crayfish plague and alien crayfish.

The project’s key message is that the native crayfish has a remarkable role to play as a part of biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. This message ties together the three themes: i) crayfish plague is the biggest threat for noble crayfish; ii) noble crayfish requires conservation actions and iii) alien species pose a threat to native ones.

Expected results

Several intensive information campaigns in different media will be produced including:

• Two information campaigns during the crayfish sea-son (lasting two weeks in June-August – precise dates

vary from year to year). These campaigns will include 15-20 seconds TV and radio bulletins presenting the project themes;

• 10-15 TV interviews or bulletins/year; • 10-15 radio interviews or bulletins/year; • 15 press releases/year;

• 1-2 articles in fisheries and nature journals; • Information leaflets;

• A regularly-updated project website;

• Download of project material to 10-15 different web-sites with 10 000 visitors/year;

• Organisation of stakeholder meetings for a total of 3 000 people/year; and

• The drafting of several regional fisheries and crayfish-ing plans (5-10 plans for the key areas of crayfish stock management initiated annually).

Beneficiary:

Type of beneficiary University

The University of Eastern Finland (UEF)

Postal address Yliopistonranta 1 FIN - 70210 Kuopio FINLAND

Phone +358 405428982 Fax N/A

Name of contact person Japo JUSSILA

36 months (01/07/2013 – 30/06/2016)

416,260.00

207,526.00 (49.85%)

Themes: Information-Communication: Awareness raising - Information / Species: Fish

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Project background

Open pastoral habitats have important biodiversity rich-ness – for instance, 81 priority bird species depend on them. However, at a European level, more than 60% of such habitats have been evaluated as having an ‘unfa-vourable’ conservation status.

These habitats are semi-natural areas because they are made and maintained by agro-pastoral activities. In the Mediterranean regions, traditional ‘extensive’ farming practices are recognised as being the best tool for their management. However, current support tools for the management of open pastoral habitats are no longer sufficient to respond to uncertain agricultural policies, greater biodiversity objectives and climate variability.

Project objectives

The LIFE MIL’OUV project aims to contribute to enhanc-ing the conservation status of open pastoral habitats in the Mediterranean region, by improving existing support tools for stockbreeders in order to change practices and better anticipate change. To reach this goal, the project will implement eco-pastoral management to assure pro-duction, as well as good conservation of the habitats, by: • Developing awareness about the importance of

eco-pastoral management;

• Disseminating updated and validated support tools for management; and

• Helping farmers and managers to implement eco-pastoral management.

All Mediterranean pastoral farming stakeholders will be encouraged to get involved: farmers and technical ad-visers, agricultural students, technicians and lecturers, as well as elected representatives, administrators and other managers of nature areas.

The project is planning to carry out 18 specific actions: • Five actions covering project management and

moni-toring progress and one preparatory action;

• Four communication and awareness actions to share knowledge through meetings with stakeholders (workshop, seminar) and media publicity;

• Three training actions for farmers, agricultural and nature area technicians, students, teachers, elected representatives and administration representatives; • Two actions to follow up the project’s impact on the

environment and on the target audiences; and • Five dissemination actions for the project results.

Expected results

The project is expected to result in the following benefits: • Guidelines for pastoral management, as well as

methods and tools for attaining the objectives of good conservation of natural habitats and agricul-tural production;

• Dissemination of new guidelines, methods and tools for pastoral management to farmers, resulting in im-proved knowledge and suitable recommendations, as well as the adoption of these recommendations; • Dissemination of the guidelines, methods and tools to

other stakeholders;

• Integration of the knowledge of the work of the stake-holders targeted by the project; and

• The implementation of suitable practices that result in an improvement in the conservation status of 100 ha of habitats of EU importance.

Beneficiary:

Type of beneficiary Park-Reserve authority

Conservatoire d’Espaces Naturels Languedoc Roussillon

Postal address Carré Montmorency, 474 Allée Henri 2 de Montmorency F - 34000 Montpellier FRANCE

Name of contact person Claudie HOUSSARD

40 months (01/09/2013 – 31/12/2016)

1,700,347.00

848,923.00 (50.00%)

Themes: Biodiversity issues: High Nature Value farmland / Industry-Production: Agriculture – Fisheries

Open pastoral lands are an

important resource! Let’s share

our knowledge to preserve their

biodiversity

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Beneficiary:

Name of beneficiary Mediterranean SOS Network

Postal address Mamai 3A

GR – 10440 Athens GREECE

Phone +30 210 8228795 Fax +30 210 8228795 Email [email protected]

Name of contact person Evangelos KOUSIASAS

21 months (01/07/2013 – 31/03/2015)

599,918.00

299,709.00 (50.00%)

Theme: Services and Trade: Tourism - Accomodation

L I F E 1 2 I N F / G R / 0 0 0 9 8 5 L I F E – A M M O S

Project background

Marine litter is one of the most serious environmental problems of the 20th_{Century. It has an adverse affect} on the economy, affecting tourism, industry and the fish-eries sector, and it is a potential source of damage to human health.

Reduction of litter, especially discarded cigarette butts, would improve the aesthetic value of beaches and boost hygiene, as well as eliminating the need for expensive clean ups.

Litter also affects sensitive coastal zones, causing con-siderable damage to marine animals and birds. There is an urgent need to inform users of the coastal zone, including visitors (especially smokers) and commercial users, in order to prevent pollution on coasts and seas of the Mediterranean.

Project objectives

The project aims to implement an integrated informa-tion campaign for the preveninforma-tion/reducinforma-tion of smoking-related litter in coastal areas of Greece. Given the ex-tended coastline and the number of visitors it attracts, the main causes of the problem include an ignorance of the environmental impacts of discarded butts amongst smokers, a lack of integrated approaches in tackling the problem and an absence of appropriate, user-friendly and affordable infrastructure. The aim of the project is to advance a change in behaviour through the combined use of technology and awareness-raising practices in order to prevent coastal pollution from cigarette butts, thus protecting the marine and coastal environment, safeguarding public health and contributing to the im-plementation of the relevant EU legislation.

The main objectives are to:

• Enhance public awareness of coastal pollution through the combination and use of various commu-nication instruments;

• Launch on-site campaigns on coasts, where the aim is not only to inform the public but to provide an ap-plicable solution on the spot (single-use ashtrays); • Carry out training activities at schools in order to

in-form students and establish behavioural change; and • Monitor the project’s impact and disseminate its re-sults, in order to enhance its effectiveness and en-courage replication in other areas affected by the same problem.

Expected results

• Increased public awareness of marine environmental issues and the importance of the protection of the coastal and marine environment;

• A 20% reduction in cigarette butt littering on beaches; • A minimum of 3 000 unique visitors to the project

website by the end of the communication and training activities;

• Increased penetration of the project’s key messages to young people (target group: 15-45 years old) through social network marketing;

• More than 1 000 total views of relevant project videos on YouTube;

• More than 1 000 followers of the project’s Twitter feed; • More than 1 000 ‘likes’ of the project’s Facebook group; • Raised awareness amongst the general public through

the broadcast of at least 30 TV spots and at least 100 radio spots on national and local networks; and • Education of some 3 000 students on the impact of

marine environment littering and especially on ciga-rette butt littering.

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Beneficiary:

Name of beneficiary LEGAMBIENTE Onlus

Postal address Via Salaria, 403 I – 00199 Roma ITALY

Name of contact person Nicola CORONA

36 months (01/10/2013 – 30/09/2016)

1,112,016.00

553,508.00 (49.78%)

Themes: Climate change – Energy: Reduction of green-house gases emissions / Information-Communication: Awareness raising - Information

Project background

Italian public opinion is less accepting of the need to tackle climate change than elsewhere in Europe, as shown by the 2011 EU Survey on Climate Change. Rea-sons for the ineffectiveness of efforts to communicate the impact of climate change include:

• The lack of a direct, evident relation between indi-vidual behaviour and its impact on climate change; • The irregularities and slow progression that are

typi-cal of climate change;

• A feeling of impotence and the lack of a clear way to address the problem individually; and

• A lack of feedback about the effectiveness of actions taken by individuals.

Project objectives

This project intends to transfer the knowledge and ex-perience gained in professional communication on risk perception and prevention to communication on climate change. It will launch a long-term, sustainable, informa-tion and communicainforma-tion campaign to reach the follow-ing goals:

• Improved awareness about climate change;

• Reduction of CO₂ emissions through the adoption, by the target audience, of a new and environmentally friendly lifestyle;

• Enhanced effectiveness of the project’s communica-tion approach by extending it to other environmental communication operators.

The main project actions will be:

• An exhibition on climate change, a simulation game and a scenario simulator;

• Testing the campaign promoting reduced CO₂ emission lifestyles in particular communities before a nation-wide rollout supported by the experience gained from the pilot campaigns. Citizens will be able to monitor the effectiveness of their new lifestyles, using information about individual and collective contributions, available on the project website and in a newsletter; and • Proposing the expansion of the communication

ap-proach adopted in this project to other public and private environmental communication operators, to multiply its results and effectiveness.

Expected results

• A specially designed exhibition taking place in 20 Ital-ian cities and included in 10 events organised by the partners, reaching around 150 000 citizens, with an

estimated 20% of the participants actively participat-ing in the initiative;

• Proposal of the new lifestyles in 30 local communities reaching 7 000 citizens, with an estimated participa-tion of 40%. This group will be actively assisted and monitored for the duration of the project and it is ex-pected that 90% of the participants will continue to adhere to the practices it promotes after LIFE;

• Promotion on the four websites of the beneficiary and project partners, with an estimated active involve-ment of about 40 000 visitors, of which 20% will continue to follow the initiative in the future;

• Reduction of CO₂ emissions by the target audience, with an estimated average saving of 0.5 tonnes/year/ participant, and a total reduction of 5 000 tonnes/ year; and

• Organisation of two events that will propose the com-munication approach to another 50 environmental communication operators.

Ecological Lifestyles for CO

₂

Reduction

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Beneficiary:

Type of beneficiary Regional authority

Coordinamento C.R.E.I.A Regione Lazio

Postal address Via della Caffarella, 13 IT - 00179 Roma ITALY

Name of contact person Mauro ANTONELLI

36 months (01/07/2013 – 30/06/2016)

1,308,379.00

646,049.00 (50.00%)

Theme: Information-Communication: Awareness raising - Information

Project background

A March 2010 Eurobarometer survey, ‘Attitudes of Eu-ropeans towards the issue of biodiversity’, found that 97% of Italian citizens had never heard of the Natura 2000 network. Factors contributing to this knowledge gap include a lack of communication amongst different regional services and an insufficient level of training by tourism operators involved in nature tours. This lack of knowledge is particularly unacceptable in a region such as Lazio, where there are six national protected areas and 69 regional ones and more than 17% of the land is included in the Natura 2000 network.

Project objectives

The project’s main objectives are to raise awareness about Lazio’s nature protection areas (NPAs) and Nat-ura 2000 network sites and about human impact on biodiversity. It will do this by encouraging residents and tourists to visit the NPAs and Natura 2000 sites, with a particular focus on field visits by school groups. Through these actions, the project aims to increase overall visitor numbers to Lazio’s protected natural areas.

To achieve these goals, the project will develop and im-plement a strategy to:

• Improve and optimise environmental communica-tions concerning the regional NPAs and Natura 2000 sites;

• Promote eco-tourism by increasing awareness among tour operators and enterprises about the environmen-tal impact of their business activities; and

• Promote educational programmes/initiatives on is-sues related to the region’s NPAs and Natura 2000 sites and concerning the impact of human activities on biodiversity.

Key messages will relate to the general characteristics of the sites; their events and services; nature, cultural and biodiversity issues; and the concept of carbon foot-print and best practices on eco-efficiency.

Expected results

• A 70% increase in people who know about Lazio’s NPAs and Natura 2000 sites (based on a survey of citizens who have participated in the project events); • The dissemination of 90 000 documents relating to

the region’s NPAs and Natura 2000 sites;

• Some 2 500 people participating in project events; • A 70% increase in students who know the Lazio NPAs

and Natura 2000 sites (based on a survey of students who have participated in the project events);

• Some 4 500 students participating in training sessions and 1 500 students participating in project events; • A 30% increase in numbers of people visiting the

Lazio region NPAs and Natura 2000 sites; • Involvement of 15 NPAs in project activities; • Participation of 150 NPA staff in training sessions; • Distribution of 1 000 project CD-ROMs to national

and European NPAs outside the region; • Involvement of 200 local authorities in events; • Involvement of 150 tour operators in events;

• Involvement of 40 local companies in the check on excellence in sustainability; and

• Participation of 600 teachers in training sessions.

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Beneficiary:

Type of beneficiary

Small and medium-sized enterprise

Stowarzyszenie REFA Wielkopolska (REFA Wielkopol-ska Association)

Postal address Rubież 46 / C3 PL – 61-612 Poznań POLAND

Phone +48 618279410 Fax +48 618279411

Name of contact person Beata NOWACZYK

31 months (01/10/2013 – 30/04/2016)

1,043,140.00

521,251.00 (49.99%)

Theme: Information-Communication: Awareness raising – Information

Project background

SMEs account for 99% of all companies in Poland, em-ploying some 9 million people. Their impact on the en-vironment (in terms of the use of natural resources and energy and overall emissions) is quite substantial. A study of 17% of the SMEs shows that the yearly consumption of resources amounts to 89 million m3_{of water, 12} mil-lion MW of energy, 145 000 tonnes of paper and 5 milmil-lion m3_{of wood. Only 8% of the companies surveyed were} aware of the scale of the environmental impact of their activities. As a result, the potential for improving resource efficiency and decreasing environmental footprints is high. The need to increase environmental awareness in the SME sector is also great. One way to improve envi-ronmental performance is to inform and train managers to measure and reduce their consumption of resources.

Project objectives

The main objective of the project is to convince manag-ers and employees of 3 000 companies to protect the environment through the more efficient use of natural resources. Six sectors are targeted, both in production – construction, wood (carpentry), automotive mechan-ics, printing, food (bakers, confectioners) – and personal services (hairdressers, beauticians).

Actions will focus on three campaigns:

• The training of managers in 500 companies with the aim of carrying out concrete improvement actions; • The supply of good examples and information tailored

to 3 000 companies affiliated to the Polish Craft Asso-ciation in order to promote environmentally friendly practices; and

• The dissemination of results to 10 000 associated groups (general public, business institutions, public ad-ministration, media) in order to create a positive image of companies that care about natural resources and the environment, and to promote their activities.

Specific objectives include:

• A 10% reduction in the consumption of selected re-sources in at least 30% of the participating companies; • Saving resources by advising 1 000 employees in 500

companies on how to reduce waste;

• Increasing the awareness of up to 3 000 entrepre-neurs about the economic and environmental benefits of saving resources;

• Reinforcing public acceptance that individuals have a role to play in reducing consumption of resources by collecting and sharing good practices; and

• Increasing public awareness of the need for action to support the effective use of resources by engaging social partners and research units.

Expected results

The project expects to achieve the following results: • 100 companies will reduce their consumption of

se-lected resources by 10% by carrying out organisa-tional and technological improvements and by imple-menting a monitoring system;

• 1 000 employees from 500 companies will be trained to analyse resource consumption and to propose re-source efficiency improvements in their companies; • 3 000 entrepreneurs will receive an information

pack-age about the economic and environmental benefits of greater resource efficiency; and

• 10 000 companies and individuals will be made aware of what they can do individually to improve resource efficiency.

Three campaigns that integrate the

SME sector businesses and their

surroundings in the efforts to

protect the environment

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Beneficiary:

Name of beneficiary BIOMASA

Postal address Kysucky Lieskovec 743 SK - 02 334 Kysucky Lieskovec SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Phone +421 905 744 140 Fax +421 414 231 505 Email [email protected]

Name of contact person Ladislav ZIDEK

36 months (01/09/2013 – 31/08/2016)

1,293,722.00

636,086.00 (50.00%)

Theme: Climate change – Energy: Energy supply / Information-Communication: Awareness raising – Information

Project background

The use of biomass and solar energy in Slovakia remains low, and thus the combustion of solid fossil fuels is keep-ing emission levels high. These fuels mostly originate out-side of the country, limiting employment opportunities in the energy sector. Additionally, cheap and low-quality fos-sil fuels are usually burned in inefficient devices (stoves, furnaces and boilers) without regard to fire safety, air emissions and related negative health effects.

The potential for using local renewable energy sources in Slovakia is estimated to be 20% of gross energy con-sumption for biomass (especially in heating) and 5% for solar energy (very promising for heating water). Long-term jobs could be created through the effective use of local renewable energy sources, strengthening the re-gional economy, especially in poorer regions.

In line with the EU Action Plan for Biomass, the Slovak government developed a national Biomass Action Plan 2014-2020, encouraging the use of locally available raw materials. BIOMASA´s experience shows that only 10% of local governments and the wider public are ade-quately informed about the possibility of using biomass and solar power to meet their energy needs.

Project objectives

The main objective of the project is to promote the use of biomass and solar energy for heating buildings and water in Slovakia.

Specific aims include:

• Increasing the effective use of renewable energy, tar-geting a shift of energy source in 300 buildings; • Improving Slovak citizens’ awareness of and

confi-dence in the use of these energies, with the goal of enabling a 5% annual increase in biomass and solar energy use and a decrease of CO₂ emissions;

• Creating a functional ‘Eco-cluster’ involving organisa-tions working in the field of biomass and solar energy. This will include training for (potential) members, pro-ject team members and stakeholders in biomass and solar energy issues; and

• Organising a major awareness campaign, to include: special events for representatives of local govern-ment and the private sector; activities for school students (such as educational events, competitions, excursions, ‘Open Doors’, etc.); and dissemination of information about the project through international

exhibitions, excursions for international students, and scholarships for students from other EU countries.

Expected results

The project expects to achieve the following results: • A 30% increase in biomass and solar energy use in

Slovakia;

• Replacement of fossil fuel-based heating systems in 300 buildings, leading to a reduction of CO₂ emis-sions by 20 000 tonnes over the course of the project; • Creation of a ‘Eco-cluster’ with a minimum of 15

members by the end of the project; and

• A 50% increase in students’ awareness of biomass and solar energy.

Strategic manage and planning use

of domestic energy

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KH-AR-13-001-EN-N

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013

LIFE Publication / Information & Communication – Projects 2012

Cover photo: LIFE11 ENV/FR/000730

ISBN 978-92-79-29475-4 ISSN 1977-2297

doi:10.2779/14410

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

This publication is only available in electronic format.